Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Lifted to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BYD. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.42.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock traded up $0.25 on Monday, hitting $51.76. 966,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,844. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $51.45 and a 1-year high of $73.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.48.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.06). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.76% and a net margin of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $960.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $947.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total transaction of $4,005,847.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at $555,168,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.92, for a total value of $4,794,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,119,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,566,430. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total transaction of $4,005,847.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at $555,168,740.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 463,618 shares of company stock worth $29,564,319 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 885.4% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,657,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,240 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the company's stock worth $297,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,121 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,773,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,756,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,638,000 after buying an additional 628,512 shares during the period. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,091,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.

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